Companies in many industries have struggled with the application of Lean Thinking to their operations. Even more challenging is to sustain the benefits that have been realized by the application of various lean concepts such as flow, pull, and workplace organization. The question that must be asked is, why is sustaining so difficult? The key to the successful application of Lean is to recognize that it requires a change in the “culture” of an organization – a change in the way the organization acts, interacts, communicates and makes decisions. Further, it is the leadership of an organization that determines its culture. However, few people in leadership roles truly understand what it takes to lead in the Lean Enterprise. Few organizations adequately prepare their leaders for the new role that is often required. This leads to companies placing unfair expectations on people in these roles, frustration on the part of all parties involved, and typically a reversion to old and familiar practices.

To lead in the Lean Enterprise, people must abandon traditional “command and control” management practices, and practice “facilitative leadership”. They must understand and accept all aspects that the new role involves – most importantly maintaining standard work practices, and focusing on continuous improvement. Further, there must be consistency in the leadership approach, and the practical activities performed by people in leadership roles. In other words, there must be standard work for leaders. Standard work is a foundation concept of Lean Thinking.

A review of the necessary skills for the Lean Leader will be provided including: planning and organizing, communication, trust development, observation, motivation, and providing direction. As part of this workshop, participants will begin to develop their own “Lean Daily Management System” (LDMS). Specific activities expected to be performed by the leaders will be defined, along with standard work to complete each.

Drew Locher

Drew is currently Managing Director for Change Management Associates. CMA provides Lean Enterprise Consulting and Organizational Development services to industrial and service organizations representing a wide variety of industries including: Healthcare, Transportation, Distribution, Education, Financial Services and Manufacturing. Drew first became involved in the development and delivery of innovative Business Improvement programs while working for General Electric in the 1980s. In 1990, Drew left GE to form CMA. Since then, he has utilized his diverse experience to help develop creative solutions for the companies with whom CMA works, in order to improve their business performance.

Drew received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Delaware in Mechanical Engineering, as well as a Master of Science degree from Drexel University in Electrical and Computer Engineering. He has also received a Master of Business Administration from Cornell University. Drew is currently a faculty member at the Lean Enterprise Institute, and an adjunct faculty member at the University of Michigan delivering workshops in their Lean Office, Lean Healthcare and Lean Pharmaceutical programs, as well as Ohio State University in their Lean Service and Administration program.

In 2004, Drew co-authored a book titled, “The Complete Lean Enterprise – Value Stream Mapping for Administrative and Office Processes”. The book won a 2005 Shingo Prize for Manufacturing Excellence in Manufacturing Research.